The events in Gagauzia should not be treated with exaggeration and devoted too much attention. Steps should be taken calmly and prudently, Prime Minister Iurie Leanca said, referring to the referendums held in the Autonomous Territorial Unit of Gagauzia. Head of Parliament Igor Corman said Moldovan officials went to Comrat to propose establishing a dialogue and cooperation relations to the local politicians so as to overcome the problems, IPN reports.
“The referendum on the external development course was rather a survey. The people mainly stated their opinion that Moldova should not lose its independence. The region’s Bashkan, being an ex-officio member of the Government, had all the chances to pronounce on all the negotiations held with the EU. We will demand that he put the questions inside the Government, not outside it,” said the Premier.
Iurie Leanca also said that he wasn’t surprised to hear that most of the people in Gagauzia voted against the integration into the EU. We ascertained a problem, centered on the talks and forgot that it is as important to explain the benefits of coming closer to the EU to the people. The access to information in Gagauzia and Taraclia is limited because the population there does not know the Romanian language and the sources they use are misinformation rather than information sources. On the other hand, we established that the people in this region per capita benefited from European financial resources through projects more than the people in the rest of Moldova. But the local leaders prefer to attribute the merits to themselves,” he stated.
Igor Corman said the actions in Gagauzia are provoked by MPs from Chisinau. “The lawmakers from here who cause such events hide behind the immunity of MP, but the local authorities must understand that they risk being punished. We went to Gagauzia and suggested discussing the problems they face there. They have two options: either to isolate themselves and not to contribute to the improvement of the situation or to cooperate with us for everyone’s benefit,” stated the Speaker.
He added that he had many meetings with people and saw that they already consider who they want to go with: Russia or Romania? “They now try by rumors to manipulate a part of society. A lot depends on how we communicate with the people. We must avoid the geopolitical confrontations. It’s a kind of competition in Gagauzia. It’s true that the largest part of the members of the People’s Assembly joined the Democratic Party. We had serious discussions with them, but what’s going on there does not concern only the relations in a party or another,” said Igor Corman.
Two referendums declared illegally by the central authorities were held in Gagauzia on February 2. The Speaker and the Premier said the courts of law will pronounce on the two referendums and their results.
